Peter despised Gentiles. He was so bound by his Jewishness that before this moment he would not talk to them. But because of the vision he had seen, Peter discarded his tradition and had a great ministry to the Gentile world.
Only the Holy Spirit can produce such a radical transformation.
Acts 11: He’ll change your outlook.
At times the Holy Spirit will reveal the future in preparation for trials and struggles coming your way. We Find one instance of that in verse 28.
“And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar” (kjv).
When this kind of revelation occurs, there is no natural explanation for it. However, there is an inward knowing that what has been revealed to your heart will
take place and that because of God’s grace, He is preparing you. Through prayer you can be prepared for what is ahead.
Acts 12: Hell change your prayer life .
It would have been totally impossible for me to develop a prayer life without first becoming acquainted with the Holy Spirit. It flows so naturally when you know Him, yet apart from Him it is impossible.
When the believers heard that Peter was in prison, “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5). They learned what it meant to pray without ceasing.
This continual prayer was offered until the answer came for Peter and he was delivered from Herod’s prison by an angel. The chains fell off and he walked out of the prison.
In fact, this divine intervention by God on Peter’s behalf was so miraculous and out of the ordinary that Peter wasn’t even sure whether or not it was happening. He thought he was having a vision. Just moments before his liberation, Peter had been sleeping, chained between two soldiers. Then suddenly a bright light appeared in the prison, and an angel of the Lord woke him and said, “Get up quickly, Peter.” And with that, his chains fell off! Then the angel of the Lord told him to put his sandals on, wrap his garment around him and follow him. Not until he was outside the prison walking on the streets did he realize what had really happened!
The believers in the Book of Acts were able to pray without ceasing for Peter because of the presence of the Holy Spirit for prayer without ceasing is impossible with-
out the help and assistance of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him today to develop that in you and He will. Psalm 80:18 declares, “Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name” (Kjv). Ask Him to quicken you daily and He will do it.
Since the moment the Holy Spirit called me to preach His Word there has never been a moment of doubt concerning my calling. It was not an occupation chosen by trial and error or a decision that was self-motivated. God directed and I said, “Yes.”
On every page of the Book of Acts you will meet people who were called by God for a specific task. During a service at the church at Antioch, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).
The church fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them before sending the evangelists away. Scripture tells us they were “sent out by the Holy Spirit” to the island of Cyprus (v. 4).
There is only one way to know God’s direction and leadership for your life. Continue to seek the Holy Spirit until He makes your calling sure—and remember, the Holy Spirit speaks through the Scriptures and through godly people as well as directly.
As Paul and Barnabas ministered from city to city, there was a power in their preaching, an authority and confirmation to their words and deeds.
When they came to Lystra, a man crippled from birth who had never walked heard them. And as Paul
spoke, the man’s faith came alive and Paul perceiving “that he had faith to be healed” said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on thy feet.” And the crippled man leaped to his feet and began to walk.
Paul was watching the man while he preached but waited to speak until the man was ready for his miracle. The Holy Spirit gave Paul that perception to know when the time for that miracle was right.
Acts 15: He’ll be your partner in decision making.
One of the greatest benefits of walking with the Holy Spirit is that I don’t have to make decisions alone. I have a Teacher, a Guide, and a Counselor to help me every step of the way. He is more than an advisor. He is a partner in settling every issue.
When the church at Jerusalem sent a letter to the Gentile believers at Antioch they wrote something of profound importance. They said, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us” (Acts 15:28).
Allow the Spirit of God to become more than a Companion. Allow Him to participate in your decision making.
Acts 16: He’ll change your direction.
More than once we have made detailed plans for a major crusade when the Holy Spirit has clearly warned me, “Don’t go.” I can’t explain it and I certainly don’t understand it, but I have to obey His leading.
When Paul and Silas traveled through the region of Galatia, “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them” (Acts 16:6, 7).
That is when the Holy Spirit gave Paul a vision of a man from Macedonia, pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9).
It’s a cliche, but a good one: “When God shuts one door, He always opens another”
When you let God chart your course, you will be on the right path. Remember, the Holy Spirit never makes a mistake. Trust Him to lead and He will do so with perfection.
At Thessalonica, Paul and Silas were involved in a nearriot, but it really wasn’t their fault. The Jews were so jealous at the crowds who were listening to Paul explain scripture that they rounded up some unsavory characters at the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city (Acts 17:1-5).
The throng shouted to the rulers of the city, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6).
Their reputation preceded them and news of their activities spread quickly. Almost everywhere they went they saw a revival. People were turning to Christ, healings were taking place, and the Spirit of God was at work.
And he wants to do the same through you today.
Years ago, someone told me “Benny, the quickest way to turn your world upside down is to turn yourself right-side up.” It was good advice.
You will begin to know the ways of God more perfectly. I feel fortunate to be surrounded in ministry with people
who have a deep dedication to the task God has asked of them. I am grateful for the sensitivity with which they minister as they serve Him. It is a result of their relationship with the Holy Spirit.
“And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (v. 26 Kjv).
Acts 19: He’ll change you as His presence lingers upon you.
When Paul came to Ephesus, he found “certain disciples,” and said to them, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”
The disciples to whom he spoke answered, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.”
We find that Paul taught them about the Holy Spirit and then laid hands upon them, and “the Holy Ghost came on them.”
Later in this same chapter we find that “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them (v. 11, 12 Kjv). The presence of God was so strong on Paul that the anointing could be transferred by the laying on of hands and upon handkerchiefs. The sick were healed and evil spirits were cast out because the anointing of the Holy Spirit lingered in such a great way upon Paul.
Paul was greatly opposed in Ephesus by both the Jewish establishment and the followers of pagan religions (vv. 9 and 23-41).
And never forget that the greater the opposition, the
greater the power. In this difficult and dangerous city, “God worked unusual (literally, “extraordinary”) miracles” (19:11, 12). The Holy Spirit wants to do the same today, only if we are willing to pay the price which is total yieldedness to Him.
God did not send His Spirit to earth so that we could neglect our duties. As a Counselor and Guide, He shows us how to take responsibility for God’s work and empowers us to do it with supernatural results giving us a place of responsibility and influence in the kingdom.
Paul’s farewell message to the Ephesian elders after three years of ministry came straight from his heart. His objective was to have them accept the mantle of leadership. He told them with great emotion, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own
blood” (Acts 20:28).
Paul issued this challenge with great confidence be- cause he knew the Holy Spirit would give them all they needed to succeed in spiritual leadership. He also knew that after his departure, “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (v. 29). They would be determined to distort the truth and deceive the disci-
pies.
God took Moses, “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3 Niv) and made him into a great leader. And He wants to do the same for you and through you
today.
At times God has given me a specific word of prophecy for someone. Sometimes this will happen as an individual stands before me on the platform in the crusades or at my church. So far, however, the Lord has never asked of me what He asked of Agabus. When He gave him a word from God for Paul—the Billy Graham of his day— he did not shrink from delivering it. At Caesarea, Agabus walked up to the apostle, took Paul’s belt and bound it around his own hands and feet. Then he said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles’” (Acts 21:11).
It took a man who had a strong relationship with the Lord to make such a declaration.
The prophecy of Agabus gave Paul insight as to the difficult days ahead. He responded, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus ” (V. 13).
When we receive insight, it makes us bold and loyal, even unto death. Paul said, “I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When you know the Holy Spirit, you will see beyond the temporal, and not even death will frighten you.
Do you remember the moment you gave your heart to Christ? Paul’s experience on the Damascus road was one he certainly could not forget. Like so many people, Paul was sincere—but sincerely wrong. Paul had no use for Jesus or His followers. Although Paul took his opposi-
tion of Christ to an extreme, he was not unlike many of us in the days before we met the Master.
And met the Master he did! He gave his testimony of being blinded by a bright light, and how his night turned to day. Paul had seen the resurrected Christ, and that convinced him of the truth of the Gospel. From a changed recognition came a changed commission: “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard” (vv. 14, 15).
Paul’s story is mine too. I was blind, but now I can see. Hallelujah!
Acts 23: He’ll increase your influence.
People continue to ask, “Does the Lord really speak to people?” My answer is an unqualified “yes!” Not only because of my personal experience, but because of God’s Word.
The city of Jerusalem was in such an uproar over Paul that the commander of the prison thought the mobs would take him away by force. In the midst of that crisis, Scripture says, “the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome (Acts 23:11).
Because of God’s power on his life, Paul was brought before Caesar and testified for his Master. And as Paul demonstrated, God opened doors supernaturally for him and brought him into a greater dimension of mflu ence before men of power and authority for the glory
of God.
The Lord continues to remind me of my primary mission in life. It is to bring people into the presence of the Lord so that they can receive from Him. If you attend any of our crusades or watch our television ministry, you understand that clearly
Paul, too, was on a mission. No matter in what circumstances he found himself, he presented the Gospel. And Paul, too, was supernaturally aided to do what he did and nothing could shake his commitment.
As Paul stood accused before the governor he said, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust” (v. 14, 15 Kjv). Here Paul declares that he was given hope—hope given only by the Holy Spirit, even in the presence of our enemies.
Paul’s reliance on the Lord never wavered. In the face of the Jews who hated him and the Romans who were baffled by him, he remained not only confident, but feisty!
He boldly maintained that “I have done no wrong, as you very well know ... I appeal to Caesar” (vv. 10, 11). Now make no mistake, the Romans had heard Paul’s message—even if they didn’t quite understand it yet. The Roman official noted his understanding that Paul’s message was about “Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive” (Acts 25:19). What baffled them
was that Paul not only affirmed it, he was totally convinced.
How did Paul know Christ was alive in the loneliness of a prison cell, the pain of a flogging, or the desolation of a shipwreck? Through his never-ending companionship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus not only promised to send the Comforter, but He delivered on that commitment.
Acts 26: He’ll change your witness.
Before God healed my stuttering tongue I would use every trick in the book to avoid speaking. Even as a young Christian, I would never volunteer to read the Scripture in public or give a short testimony.
But what a change took place when God healed me as I preached my first sermon on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1974. Nly tongue was loosed, and it seems I have not stopped talking since.
Paul took every opportunity to present his testimony, too, and to bring deliverance to the captive. His defense before King Agrippa was so strong it has been a model of study for legal scholars. There was strength in his witness and power in his words. When he was finished, Agrippa said, u Tou almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28).
Almost anyone can produce a speech, but only the Spirit can produce a testimony.
Acts 27: He’ll change your chaos into peace.
On his final journey to Rome, Paul was a prisoner on a ship with 276 passengers. After two weeks of storm- tossed seas, the apostle was the only person who knew the meaning of peace. As day was about to dawn, Paul
implored them all to take food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing’” (Acts 27:33).
He not only urged them to eat for survival, but reassured them, “Not a hair will fall from the head of any of you” (v. 34).
In a time of testing it is only peace from above that can calm the storm.
I know what it is like to be near the point of death.
In 1983, flying with six passengers in a Cessna aircraft at 11,000 feet, we ran out of fuel near Avon Park, Florida. I was asleep, but not for long. “We’re in trouble. Pray! Pray!” were the first words I heard from our pilot, Don.
Everyone began crying out in fear. But suddenly a great peace came over me. I said, “Don, it’s going to be all right. No one will be killed.”
God used those words to calm the passengers. “Please don’t cry,” I told them. “Just relax. God isn’t through with me.”
We crash landed in a field and there were some injuries, but I did not have a scratch. Deep within my spirit I had the assurance, “It’s going to be all right.”
He turned chaos into peace.
Paul was shipwrecked off the island of Malta, and every passenger reached land in safety. But as they were building a fire for warmth, a viper came out of the heat and fastened itself on to Paul’s hand.
When the island natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “No doubt this man
is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live” (Acts 28:4).
Instead of screaming, “I’m going to die! Get me some medicine!” he simply shook the serpent off and sustained no ill effects.
The islanders expected him to die instantly. After a while, when they realized he was going to live, “they changed their minds and said that he was a god” (v. 6).
Only the Holy Spirit can turn your conflict into victory.
The message of the Book of Acts is that nothing can replace a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. He works so mightily in the lives of people attuned to Him. The Upper Room experience is wonderful, but it’s only the first step on a road of ever-increasing fellowship.
Allow Him to change your hearing, your speech, your vision, your actions, and every part of your being. Start now to practice the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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